Bridge budget gaps and review model of education

Senator Wilson Sossion, parliamentary committees on Education and Labour member. [File, Standard]

The Covid-19 pandemic has affected the global economy and financial markets, leading to a reduction in incomes which has compelled developing countries to cut their education budgets.

The education financing gap is predicted to expand by one-third compared to the pre-pandemic trajectory, which reflects lower government revenue and rising education costs. Hence, measures need to be implemented urgently to restore Kenya’s education budget so that more funds can be channelled to scheduled educational projects, besides the routine teaching and learning.

Thus, in the wake of the pandemic, the education budget should be safeguarded amid competing priorities and fiscal austerity.

As the disease is not likely to disappear any time soon, the next president, who will be elected in the 2022 General Election, will have to take proactive actions to protect economic prosperity and education, considering that s/he will inherit a complicated, and an almost-ruined education system which has not been run professionally in the last 10 years.

The rescue strategy should include mobilising massive resources to finance the review of the education system, expansion of school infrastructure, hiring of more teachers and investing in quality teaching and learning tools without changing the structure of the system.

A properly designed education system will cut down the costs. Funding should also target middle-level colleges and TVET institutions to develop competencies that are relevant to the job market.

The government should audit all education programmes between 2013 and 2022 and do away with business-related policies like school laptop project, and the Competency-based curriculum.

According to Unicef estimates, government spending on education is expected to fall by seven per cent on average. Education planners will have to go back to the drawing board to reconfigure the entire education model to reduce costs.

Kenya, a signatory to Unicef Social Policy and Education Working Paper, has no choice but to implement its proposals, which include positioning education at the centre of national fiscal stimuli packages and annual budgets and improving the prioritisation and allocative efficiency of budgets in the education sector.

Unicef further recommends that the government should aggressively advocate for greater external financial support for education; link debt relief support to education; enhance value for money and transparency in education spending; promote a holistic approach to investing in learning and, more importantly, produce more and better education sector data, financial and operational.

Successful implementation of reforms in education will largely depend on availability and efficient utilisation of resources.

It is also critical for the Education Ministry to work in partnership with county governments, private sector and development partners in actualising the 2018 Government Policy on Resource Mobilisation and Management.

Mr Sossion is a member of parliamentary committees on Education and Labour